The Washington Post reports on Sderot as a “symbol”
Perhaps a quarter of Sderot’s population has moved away in recent years. Of the 20,000 or so residents left, anxiety and other signs of post-traumatic stress are widespread.
That’s the message of Eli Ovits, communications director for the Israel Project, a nonprofit media group with offices in Jerusalem and Washington. One of the group’s staple activities is a helicopter tour to showcase Israel’s geography — the comparatively small space in which the ongoing conflict is confined. These days, Sderot warrants a special stop.
Organizations interested in Israel — be they religious, social or political in nature — are adept at telling their story, efficient in seeking out reporters who might be interested and organizing press tours.
I’m not sure that the reporter means for that last paragraph to be as telling as it is. But the implication is that to tell the story of Sderot, it’s up to pro-Israel partisans to get the story out. The media, in general, are not interested. But since this is the MSM the article has the obligatory mention of balance.
Thousands of rockets have been fired toward Israel in the past eight years; approximately 20 Israelis inside Israel have died and several hundred have been injured as a result. The recent 22-day Israeli military offensive in Gaza against Hamas claimed more than 1,200 Palestinian lives.
And since that offensive how many hundreds of rockets have been fired with minimal response from Israel? Why is there no mention that since Israel declared its ceasefire the rockets fired against Israel have been upgraded? To get a sense of what Sderot faces, one cannot expect to get the story from the MSM. Israeli suffering doesn’t count for much, only perceived Israeli overreactions.
But read Sderot under Siege (again) by David Keyes for a better sense of what Sderot faces and why Israel responds. For the Washington Post Sderot is not reality, but a symbol.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
